I’m a bit of a fan of Eleanor Roosevelt, the woman was practically a quote vending-machine. That book is a plain lined notebook I picked up in my most favourite gift shop ever, Pentimento. It cost way too much money but I use it as a sort of thought-journal plus it looks good on a shelf. Right now it’s sitting on my desk.
It only took me the end of two degrees to realise that a study space is so, so important. It has to invite you there or you’re not going to go there. And I can tell you now, as inviting as they get, sometimes only a massive block of chocolate and some Etsy purchases for your walls will get you there, and that’s okay.
I went for my customary walk with Mr G today – we go for a walk around the neighbourhood every day if the weather is nice, all good Mediterraneans* walk around 2-3km a day so I do too. Not very quickly. There’s always so much to look at, neigbours gardens to inspect, fruit to be pinched from trees, and dogs to chuckle at.
I think the best bunch of flowers are the ones you gather yourself on these walks, they don’t match, they tell a story of where you’ve been and the conversations you had that day.
I love colour. I love star jasmine. I’d never seen it before moving from a cooler state to a warmer one. I was so excited when I discovered it that I rang my mother immediately and described it to her. Of course she knew exactly what it was, she is a walking encyclopedia of flowers. Whenever she comes to visit, we go walking around the neighborhood, and she makes me name all the flowers. If I don’t remember the name, she makes me remember it every hundred metres or so.
I love Sundays, I love spring and summer, and I love the sunlight brightening up all the colour I’ve put around the place!
*I am not Mediterranean. Not even remotely. My ancestors ate potatoes and died of scurvy. But I am obsessed with living like one.
Bake. Love. Run. 